When ARK cannot parse the configured player limit, it may fall back to 70. The most common causes are command-line formatting, an incorrect total-conversion parameter, or conflicting MaxPlayers values.
Check the command line
Numeric values should not be wrapped in quotation marks. For example:
- Incorrect:
?MaxPlayers="70" - Correct:
?MaxPlayers=50
Also remove smart quotes, spaces around the equals sign, and missing ? or - prefixes.
Check total conversion settings
-TotalConversionMod= should be present only when you are running an actual total conversion. Remove it if it points to a normal content mod or is empty.
Make the values agree
If the command line contains ?MaxPlayers=50, set the same number under [ServerSettings] in GameUserSettings.ini:
MaxPlayers=50
Stop the server before editing, change one item at a time, and check the player limit reported by the public server browser after startup. Fixing these parameters does not wipe the world, but a backup is still recommended.
